Encouragement for Today: Capture Your Thoughts

I think mother’s today have become particularly vulnerable to attacks to the heart. Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a stay-at-home mom trying to cobble a part-time income, a mom who works full-time or some crazy variation of of any of these things it doesn’t matter. Today we live in a culture that constantly bombards us with message that we aren’t good enough in whatever we do. If you aren’t living a Pinterest perfect life… and really who does…. you aren’t enough!

Oh and even if you DO live that sort of life then that isn’t good enough either! You have to have a life full perfect balance. You should create a home and a life of beauty, creativity, and excitement. Your children should be perfectly well behaved, super intelligent, and fantastically athletic. Yet if your life is TOO good or your children are TOO perfect… well then you must be fake.

Women turn these things into an internal dialog. They start to tell themselves that whatever it is that they do it isn’t right. It isn’t enough. They’re too much like this or too little like that.

You work too much!/You should contribute to the household income.

You homeschool and your 5 year old hasn’t graduated college yet?/Wait… don’t push those kids too hard.. start school later it’s better for them.

You’re home is too clean! Don’t you spend any time with your kids?/Your house is a mess! Why can’t you keep it clean?

You must pay attention to your husband!/Don’t you know you need time for yourself!

I could go on! But I won’t. I know I’m not the only one who can get down on myself when I can’t make myself live up to my own (or the world’s imaginary) expectations. I hear women talk of these things all of the time. I will tell you this… if you are walking close with God then you are living the life that He has laid out for you. You are loved and you are perfect in His eyes. He does not want you dwelling on these crazy thoughts that you are doing things right.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5

If you are walking in obedience to God you can stop worrying. Take these false ideas, these negative thoughts, wrap them up in a bundle and give them to God. He’ll take care of them for you. Then revel in the freedom of living life without the weight of the negativity.